The 'Top Gear' presenter (48) made the quip about lorry drivers killing sex workers on Sunday night's BBC2 show. As he completed a lorry-driving task, he said: "This is a hard job and I'm not just saying that to win favour with lorry drivers, it's a hard job.

His comments come after serial killer Steve Wright, a former lorry driver, was convicted in February of murdering five prostitutes in Ipswich.

Clarkson's joke, made before the watershed, sparked 188 complaints to the BBC, out of what the corporation said was seven million viewers.

The Iceni Project, a charity which had helped some of the murdered prostitutes in Ipswich, criticised the remark as "highly distasteful".

"Maybe people on the BBC should think a bit more before saying some of the things they keep coming out with.

"It is around the time of the anniversary of the girls' deaths and it's a very delicate time. I saw it on 'Top Gear'. It made me cringe.''

Broadcasting watchdog Ofcom said it had been contacted by viewers angry at the remarks. A spokesman said: "These complaints are currently being assessed against the Broadcasting Code.

John Beyer, the director of pressure group Mediawatch-UK, said: "I think it's difficult to justify. Jeremy Clarkson has been careless."

The remarks come after a prank by Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand on Brand's Radio 2 show led to station controller Lesley Douglas resigning.

Ross has been suspended for three months without pay and Brand also resigned over the incident, in which the pair left a message on 'Fawlty Towers' star Andrew Sachs's answer machine claiming Brand had slept with his grand-daughter.